The Boston Indicators Project offers new ways to understand Boston and its neighborhoods in a regional, national and global context. It aims to democratize access to information, foster informed public discourse, track progress on shared civic goals, and report on change in 10 sectors: Civic Vitality, Cultural Life and the Arts, the Economy, Education, the Environment, Health, Housing, Public Safety, Technology, and Transportation.

The Greater Boston region has a long history as a birthplace of revolution and innovation and is packed with firsts ––the nation’s first public park and public library, breakthroughs in medicine and “green” building. With a newly revitalized waterfront and some of the nation’s—and the world’s—top colleges and universities, the region – with Boston at its core – attracts students from around the world and top-tier talent in all fields to its dynamic and diversified knowledge economy. And with a growing population of foreign-born residents and entrepreneurs, Boston is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the nation. All of these factors contribute to Boston’s competitive edge. This cross-cut filter provides the opportunity to better understand Boston’s competitive edge as well as some of its key challenges, such as a high cost of living, in a national context. Seeing Boston in comparison with other regions and cities around the nation and sometimes around the world helps us to gauge challenge, progress and possibilities in the context of trends elsewhere.

Diversity augments cultural vitality, increases problem-solving capacity through new skills and perspectives, and strengthens global economic connections. But highly diverse communities often require community-building efforts to achieve a whole greater than the sum of the parts.

How are we doing?

As of 2010, 53% of Bostonians were people of color compared to just 32% of the population in 1980. Citywide, 22% of Bostonians were African American, 17% Latino, and 9% Asian Pacific Islander. The neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan are home to the highest concentration of African Americans in both Boston and Massachusetts while the city’s Latino population mostly resides in East Boston and parts of Jamaica Plain. Boston’s Asian population is largely concentrated into the small neighborhood of Chinatown as well as the Fields Corner neighborhood of Dorchester.

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In 2010, Boston's total White population was 290,312. Census tracts in neighborhoods such as South Boston, Charlestown, the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, and the North End have high percentages of White residents ranging from 98 to 80 percent.

The term “foreign-born” refers to people born in places outside the United States. These individuals do not acquire citizenship at birth and are “naturalized citizens” when they do. According to the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the city’s foreign-born population in Boston approximately contributes $4.6 billion in annual spending, $1 billion in state and federal taxes, and about 52,230 direct jobs for the local economy.

How are we doing?

As of 2010, more than 27% of Bostonians were foreign-born, up from 26% in 2000 and 20% in 1990. The greatest number of immigrants in Boston live in the neighborhoods of Chinatown, East Boston, and parts of Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan where foreign-born residents range from about 30% to 60%.

In 2010 Irish remained the largest single ancestry reported by Bostonians with more than 100,000 identifying as Irish followed by about 50,000 identifying as Italian and more than 40,000 identifying as West Indian, of which more than 24,000 were Haitian. An additional 36,000 identify as English, 28,000 as German and about 25,000 as Sub-Saharan African of which more than 10,000 are Cape Verdean.

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The greatest number of immigrants in Boston live in the neighborhoods of Chinatown, East Boston, and parts of Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan where foreign-born residents range from about 30% to 60%.

The Creative Economy plays a critical role in economic as well as cultural vitality. For-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations and institutions help to brand the region as an exciting place to live and work, create jobs across a broad range of skills, talents and areas of interest, generate tax revenues for the Commonwealth, attract tourists, and help to develop and retain “Creative Class” talent for the knowledge economy on which the region depends for future growth.

How are we doing?

According to Americans for the Arts, as of 2012 there were nearly 21,000 creative industry enterprises in Massachusetts, employing more than 85,000. This includes more than 27,000 employed in design, advertising and architecture, more than 14,000 employed in movies, radio or television, and nearly 12,000 performance artists.

Middlesex County in Greater Boston has the most creative businesses with more than 5,600 employing roughly 24,000 followed by Suffolk county—which includes Boston—that has more than 2,600 creative businesses employing almost 22,000.

The nonprofit cultural sector also contributes to the state’s economy. According to the New England Foundation for the Arts, total direct and indirect employment stemming from nonprofit arts organizations was 42,378 with a total economic impact of $4.765 billion as of 2009.

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As of 2012 there were nearly 21,000 creative industry enterprises in Massachusetts. Middlesex County in Greater Boston has the most creative businesses with more than 5,600 followed by Suffolk county that has more than 2,600 creative businesses.

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More than 85,000 are employed in the creative industries across Massachusetts, including 27,000 employed in design, advertising and architecture, more than 14,000 employed in movies, radio or television, and nearly 12,000 performance artists.

Cultural organizations and institutions act as catalysts for the local and regional economy. To achieve this, Boston’s cultural organizations—from world-class institutions to the smallest community-based groups—rely on a mix of public, private and philanthropic contributions in addition to earned income. The National Endowment for the Arts provides significant support to Massachusetts’ and Boston’s cultural communities. Insufficient investment from these sources prevents Boston’s cultural institutions from realizing their potential and, at worst, threatens their survival.

How are we doing?

In FY2012 Massachusetts received $9,199,866 in funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, about $3 million more than the Massachusetts Cultural Council received from the state legislature. In total dollar amount, this was the 5th highest allocation of funding to states behind New York, Minnesota, New Jersey and Maryland. However, this equates to $1.41 in funding per resident, ranking Massachusetts 12th in per capita funding, well behind leaders Washington DC at $6.68 and Minnesota at $5.59 per capita in FY12. Overall, Massachusetts was just one of 14 states to have an increase in NEA funding between FY11 and FY12.

Increasing and retaining a pool of young knowledge workers - the growth tip of the region’s economy - is critical to the city and to the region’s future. For decades, Metro Boston has relied on the ready pool of highly-skilled young adults turned out each year by colleges and universities in the area. Current challenges - including labor force growth due principally to immigration of lower skilled workers and persistent racial and ethnic disparities in education outcomes - may require more balanced strategies to grow the pool of knowledge workers.

How are we doing?

Metro Boston ranks 4th among the nation’s largest metro’s in the percent of adults 25 years or older with a BA or higher at 43%, behind DC, San Jose and San Francisco. However, Boston ranks 1st in the percent of highly educated young workers with 54% of 25-34 year olds holding a BA or Higher. The metro is anchored by Boston’s high educational attainment where 62% of 25 to 34 year old hold a BA or higher, topping all other large US cities.

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43% of adults 25 years and older in Boston have a Bachelor's Degree or Higher but with great disparities. In parts of Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan fewer than 20% of adults have a BA or higher, compared to more than 75% in Back Bay, Beacon Hill and Fenway.

Patents per capita is a widely used measure of technological capacity and innovation and a predictor of economic dynamism. The number of patents generated in a community indicates the capacity for creative thinking and research activity, the commitment to support innovation, and the potential for the development of new commercial products and services.

How are we doing?

Metro Boston ranked fourth globally in patent filings, accounting for 7.2% of all patents filed in the US and 2.5% of all patents filed worldwide, according to 2008 statistics from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Metro Boston ranked second globally—behind only San Francisco—in biotech patents. According to the Mass Tech Collaborative, the number of patents awarded in Massachusetts rose by 33% between 2009 and 2010 and the state ranked first among all leading technology states in patents issued at 931 per million residents, up from 622 in 2006. The next highest state was New York with 749 patents per million.

The funding that Massachusetts’ and Metro Boston’s research institutions and universities attracts reflects the region's international reputation as fertile ground for innovation. Local research and development activities support breakthrough thinking, the development of new technologies, and the emergence of dynamic economic sectors. The combination of funding for research and development (R&D) and local access to venture capital (VC) supports entrepreneurs' conversion of ideas and pilot projects into economic activity and prosperity.

How are we doing?

R&D: Massachusetts ranked 6th in total funding for Research & Development with nearly $2.5 million and 3rd in per capita R&D funding with $373 per capita as of FY09, the most recent year for which data are available. More than half of the funding, $1.8 million, came from the federal government ranking 3rd in total federal funds. Massachusetts ranked 6th in total funding from industry but only 37th in R&D funding provided by the state.

Venture Capital: As of Q1 2012, the New England Region had the second largest VC investment value in the nation, at $678 million and nearly 12% of the nation’s total. In 2011, Massachusetts per capita VC as $455, the highest of all leading technology states, despite falling from $491 per capita in 2006 according to the Mass Tech Collaborative.

A highly educated workforce is critical to national and global competitiveness. Educational attainment rates are a good indicator of the quality of the workforce and increasingly understood to be central to economic growth, innovation economy industry sectors, and jobs.

How are we doing?

Metro Boston ranks 4th among the nation’s largest metro’s in the percent of adults 25 years or older with a BA or higher at 43%, behind DC, San Jose and San Francisco. However, Boston ranks 1st in the percent of highly educated young workers with 54% of 25-34 year olds holding a BA or Higher. The metro is anchored by Boston’s high educational attainment where 62% of 25 to 34 year old hold a BA or higher, topping all other large US cities.

Metro Boston ranks 4th among the nation’s largest metro’s in the percent of adults 25 years or older with a BA or higher at 43%, behind DC, San Jose and San Francisco. However, Boston ranks 1st in the percent of highly educated young workers with 54% of 25-34 year olds holding a BA or Higher. The metro is anchored by Boston’s high educational attainment where 62% of 25 to 34 year old hold a BA or higher, topping all other large US cities.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only continuing national assessment of student achievement in core subjects such as mathematics, reading and writing. As the Nation’s Report Card, NAEP scores are the common metric for all 50 states and 18 Trial Urban District Areas to compare and track student progress and achievement over time.

How are we doing?

In 2011, Massachusetts ranked first in the nation in reading and math for both fourth and eighth graders for the fourth consecutive testing year, but with stark and persistent achievement gaps by race/ethnicity and income.

4th math: With a 2011 average scaled score of 253, 58% of 4th graders were proficient or higher in NAEP math, up from 31% in 2000. However, 76% of Asian and 67% of white students were proficient compared to 32% of Latino and 27% of African American students. Similarly, 70% of non-low income students were proficient in math compared of 36% of low income students.

4th reading: the average scaled score increased to 237 in 2011, up from 228 in 2003, and 50% were proficient or above. However, proficiency rates for white and Asian students were more than two times higher than African American and Latino students: 59% and 56% compared to 24% and 23%, respectively. Sixty-three percent of non-low income students were proficient compared to 25% of low income students.

8th math: Fifty-one percent of students scored proficient or above in 2011, compared to 30% in 2000 and the average scaled score of 299 was 17 points higher than the US average. However, 21% of Latino and 26% of African American 8th graders were proficient in math compared to 58% of white and 76% of Asian students. Over 60% of non-low income students were proficient compared to 29% of low income 8th graders.

8th reading: reading proficiency rates increase to 46% in 2011, up from 43% in 2003. However, 62% of Asian and 53% of white students were proficient or above compared to 20% of African American and 18% of Latino students.

Obesity is a major contributing risk factor for high-cost, preventable chronic diseases such as Type II Diabetes and Hypertension, the costs of which are projected to triple over the next two decades.

How are we doing?

Massachusetts is losing ground in obesity. As of 2010, 24% of adults in the state were obese, ranking as the seventh-lowest rate in the nation. However, in 2009 Massachusetts had the third-lowest obesity rate in the US at 22%. Though Massachusetts obesity rates remain low compared to many US states, since 1995 obesity rates have more than doubled from less than 12% of adults. When combining the percent of adults who are overweight and obese, 60% of Massachusetts’ adults were at an unhealthy weight in 2010.

The cost of health care has become a top economic pressure facing families and private employers as well as local, state and federal governments and is replacing access to insurance as the number one barrier to receiving care.

How are we doing?

As of 2010, Massachusetts residents paid $437 in average monthly health insurance premiums--more than any other state and more than twice the amount of the national average $215. Over the last twenty years, health spending in Massachusetts has tripled from $3,316 per capita in 1991 to $9,278 per capita in 2009.

For Boston to sustain its competitive edge as a thriving high-tech center that can grow, attract and retain knowledge workers, it must be able to offer a range of housing choices and prices.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indicec are the leading measures for the US residential housing market, tracking changes in the value of residential real estate both nationally as well as in 20 metropolitan regions

How are we doing?

As of May 2012 Metro Boston's home prices had risen for the sixth consecutive month and were 3.3% higher than the market bottom in March of 2009. However, prices have not fully recovered to where they were prior to the recession and remain 17% lower than the peak in September 2005.

Among the 20 Metro Regions tracked by the Case Schiller Home Price Index, Boston had the third most stable home prices losing 20% of value from peak to trough, behind Dallas where values declined by 11% and Denver where values declined by 14%. In comparison, Las Vegas and Phoenix home values declined by 62% and 56% respectively between market peak and bottom.

However, Boston has not recovered as quickly as other Metros. From market bottom through May 2012 home prices increased by 3.3%, the fourth lowest of the 20 regions. By comparison, values in San Francisco and Washington DC have increased by 15% and 12% respectively from the market bottom to present.

The funding that Massachusetts’ and Metro Boston’s research institutions and universities attracts reflects the region's international reputation as fertile ground for innovation. Local research and development activities support breakthrough thinking, the development of new technologies, and the emergence of dynamic economic sectors. The combination of funding for research and development (R&D) and local access to venture capital (VC) supports entrepreneurs' conversion of ideas and pilot projects into economic activity and prosperity.

How are we doing?

R&D: Massachusetts ranked 6th in total funding for Research & Development with nearly $2.5 million and 3rd in per capita R&D funding with $373 per capita as of FY09, the most recent year for which data are available. More than half of the funding, $1.8 million, came from the federal government ranking 3rd in total federal funds. Massachusetts ranked 6th in total funding from industry but only 37th in R&D funding provided by the state.

Venture Capital: As of Q1 2012, the New England Region had the second largest VC investment value in the nation, at $678 million and nearly 12% of the nation’s total. In 2011, Massachusetts per capita VC as $455, the highest of all leading technology states, despite falling from $491 per capita in 2006 according to the Mass Tech Collaborative.

Patents-per-capita is a widely used measure of technological capacity and innovation and a predictor of economic dynamism. The number of patents generated in a community indicates the capacity for creative thinking and research activity, the commitment to support innovation, and the potential for the development of new commercial products and services.

How are we doing?

Metro Boston ranked fourth globally in patent filings, accounting for 7.2% of all patents filed in the US and 2.5% of all patents filed worldwide, according to 2008 statistics from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Metro Boston ranked second globally—behind only San Francisco—in biotech patents. According to the Mass Tech Collaborative, the number of patents awarded in Massachusetts rose by 33% between 2009 and 2010 and the state ranked first among all leading technology states in patents issued at 931 per million residents, up from 622 in 2006. The next highest state was New York with 749 patents per million.

Human capital is an essential ingredient in any region’s capacity to be competitive in the marketplace, and highly-skilled workers are the most sought after and the most mobile in today's workforce. Access to an educated workforce is a critical factor in the decision-making process when companies are planning to expand or relocate. This is especially true in the technology sector, where a region with a high rate of science- and engineering-degree holders has a distinct advantage.

How are we doing?

In 2011 Massachusetts universities awarded 2,500 doctorate degrees ranking behind only Washigton DC and first among all states in the rate of Doctorate Agrees awarded in with 38 per 100,000, according to the National Science Foundation.

Nearly two-thirds of the degrees awarded were in the STEM fields with 601 degrees in Life Sciences, 478 degrees in Physical Sciences and 454 Engineering doctorate degrees awarded. Massachusetts ranked in the top five of all states in the number of science and engineering degrees awarded.

The region’s capacity to move passengers, goods, and services to national and global destinations reinforces its role as a port of entry for new immigrants and enhances its reach as a world-class city within the national and global economy.

How are we doing?

Boston’s Logan International Airport remained the nation’s 19th busiest airport in 2010, according to the most recent data from the Federal Aviation Administration. According to MassPort, more than 28.9 million passengers flew through Logan in 2011, the highest number since 2007. The total number of domestic travelers flying through Logan increased by 5% from 23.6 million in 2010 to 24.8 million in 2011. International passenger count increased by 7.6% from 3.6 million in 2010 to 3.9 million in 2011. Air cargo and mail declined by 3% from 2010 to 2011 driven by large declines in International mail and cargo shipping.

The port of Boston ranked 33 among all North American ports in 2011 in total container traffic with 192,705 tanker containers processed, up from 168,285 in 2010. The port of Boston ranked 6th in volume growth among all North American ports.

Traffic congestion creates a number of economic, social and environmental costs from economic activity lost to travel time, increased greenhouse gas emissions and social isolation. A wide-range of available travel options can help off-set some of these negative impacts

How are we doing?

In 2010, Metro Boston ranked 4th among 101 metros in total vehicle miles traveled—more than 75 million miles per day--according to the Texas Transportation Institute's Urban Mobility Study. Commuters in Metro Boston spent an excess of of 117 million hours in delayed traffic in 2010, or 47 hours per auto commuter, down from more than 142 million total and 57 per commuter in 2005. In 2010 Metro Boston ranked 6th in annual public transit with nearly 1.8 billion passenger miles traveled.

Transportation costs constitute a major expenditure for most households, often second only to housing. Motor vehicles can be expensive to purchase, insure fuel, maintain, and repair. Like housing and health care, transportation costs affect the decisions people make about where to live, start a business or raise a family.

How are we doing?

Metro Boston had the 6th lowest overall transportation costs among the largest US metro’s, averaging $12,394 per household from 2005-2009. However, among the 18 metro regions included in the Consumer Expenditure Survey, Boston ranked 5th in transit cost burden with transportation costs accounting for more than 14% of all expenses in 2010.

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Boston's combined Housing & Transportation costs combined for 56% of median household income in 2010. Some communities may have a lower cost burden because of higher incomes or greater use of lower-cost transit options.